Clio takes law conferences to Cloud 9

There are law conferences — and then there’s a Clio law conference. After spending two days at the recent Clio Cloud Conference in Chicago, I’m still trying to figure out what I just witnessed — other than what I hope is the future of legal conferences.

When the opening begins with the Clio team in the hall chanting like a football team about to take the field, then running up to the stage clapping and cheering, you know this ain’t gonna be your grandpappy’s type of law conference.

As most readers of this blog know, Clio is one of the leading cloud-based legal practice management platforms in North America — and it’s Canadian.

Clio’s cloud conference is what’s known to Silicon Valley-types as a user conference; a gathering of users and potential users who want to learn more about the product, as well as industry issues. Spread over 2 days, the conference had 3 tracks of talks and discussion groups – from taking your practice mobile, security in the cloud, taking your practice virtual, going paperless, social media tips, marketing, etc., to Clio University where users had the opportunity to learn short cuts and how to better use Clio’s features to streamline practices. There was also the unconference track allowing for free-flowing discussions among attendees and Clio personnel.

Most exciting was the Smart Bar where Clio personnel were available for consultations on specific user issues — this area was packed with users looking for tweaks and tips! Of interest to lawyers with an eye on the future, Clio allows for in-depth analysis of any data within the platform — want to see who is more efficient on what files? Want to see the fees on similar files in order to price better for future files? Data analytics will be a powerful tool for law firms in the near-future.

The big news however, was the Apple-style announcement of Clio’s new app for iPhone — the company’s first dedicated iOS application; an app that not only allows lawyers to fully access Clio’s platform from their iPhone and iPad, but also demonstrates that great tech can also look stylish! From the audible gasps in the audience, Clio had clearly hit the mark on this app. An Android version is now in the works.

In short, Clio managed to find the perfect mix of interesting and informative general practice-focused materials, with Clio-specific solutions.

And showing courage that is sorely lacking among law firms in Canada, Clio posted a number of white sheets along the conference walls with questions such as: “What annoys me most about Clio is ___________,” “I really wish Clio would implement________,” “What I like about Clio is___________” and the like. Attendees were asked to add comments to each white sheet. How many law firms would ask these questions? And then how many would act on the responses? In a stroke of absolute genius, Jack Newton announced at the start of the second day of the conference that Clio had already implemented some of the requested features on the white sheets from the day before.

Perhaps the most enjoyable part of this conference was being around Clio personnel who genuinely enjoy their jobs and are excited about making the product better by creating new features; so unlike the atmosphere of traditional Canadian law firms. When I was speaking with Andy Daws and Jack Newton, Andy commented that the energy he felt from Clio personnel was the same energy he felt from the Riverview Law team in the U.K. — and he was right. I felt a similar energy when I visited Riverview Law.

Can Canadian law firms have the same energy and fun as startups like Clio and U.K. law firms like Riverview Law? Ask the new breed of Canadian law firms like Cognition or Conduit — the answer is yes!